


The River Runs Cold

by Earth_Phoenix



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Zacharias Smith, Azkaban, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Hallucinations, Harry Potter in Azkaban, Head Auror Sally-Anne Perks, Insane Harry Potter, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, request fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-06-06 08:06:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15190460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Earth_Phoenix/pseuds/Earth_Phoenix
Summary: The wonderful Mariie from the infamous Tomarry discord requested a Insane, Azkaban escapee Harry and Auror Zacharias Smith. This is what i came up with.Harry has been locked away in Azkaban for 5 years. The fallen hero never has visitors, for who would visit whom after the crimes he has committed?Zarcharias Smith has spent his post Hogwarts life becoming an Auror, making a new and and better life for himself.Then one day he is called into work, a high security prisoner has escaped and needs to be found quietly and quickly.In the search for the fallen hero, Zacharias will have to ask uncomfortable questions and consider the possibility that nothing is quite what it seems.





	1. The Prisoner Escapes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mariiechan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mariiechan/gifts).



> A huge thank you to my wonderful, amazing and lovely Beta Chi, for beta'ing this. 
> 
> Mariie I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Zacharias awake to the sound of flapping wings, raising his head, he spotted an owl was perched on his headboard. Rolling his eyes, he slumped face down into his pillow, his eyes heavy with sleep. It had been a very long week and he felt entitled to a lie in. This was the start of his weekend off and he intended to make the most of it.

Wanting to redeem himself and his family’s pride, Zacharias had signed himself up to auror training. It had been hard, shaking of the ‘coward’ comments thrown his way because he hadn’t stayed to fight. Over time, Zacharias had proven himself to be capable in battle, a smart fighter and one of the best trackers in the auror department.

Training had improved him so much, he hardly recognised the man he had become. He had just graduated from trainee to auror when it had happened. _The Downfall of Harry Potter._ The memory of still made him feel sick. The murders. The blood. The denial of guilt. Zacharias had only seen Harry once during that time. His former school mate had been shouting incoherently, his eyes bloodshot as he had been dragged into courtroom 10. He had been very grateful that he hadn’t been assigned to _that_ case.

The owl screeched at it him, indignant at being ignored. Swearing to himself, he pulled his mind away from the memories of the past and raised his head again. The owl seemed familiar, the brown speckles around it’s eyes ringing alarm bells in his head. He glared at the bird, giving it the stink eye. The bird looked unimpressed and stuck a foot out. Zacharias blinked, his tired brain trying to put the pieces together.

He bolted upright. Brown speckles. Shit. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he sat up. Praxidike his boss’s owl looked down at him disapprovingly. Yawning, Zacharias took the letter from the owl’s leg and shook it open. All colour drained from his face as read the letter.

_“Come into the office immediately. A high security prisoner has escaped from Azkaban. Tell no one.”_

He quickly got dressed, shoving his robes over his head in a rush. His mind whirled with names, trying to figure out which of the high security prisoners could have escaped Azkaban. The Prophet would have a field day if this got out.

He hesitated by the kitchen, the idea of grabbing something to eat tempting, but then the image of his boss sending him a screaming howler, telling him to a bloody move on came into his mind and he thought better off it. Better not piss the boss off anymore than she was going to be.

When he finally made into the Auror department, he was shocked to find it quiet. The skeleton staff that covered the weekends were still drifting in. Some called out to him as he walked down the corridor, no one looked worried.

As he walked he passed his own office, filled with maps and charts as he and his partner chased surviving Death Easters across the world to bring them to justice.

He knocked softly on the door to Perks’ office. She answered with a trite ‘enter.’ He let himself in and raised an eyebrow at his partner, Terry Boot.

Sally-Anne Perks leaned against her desk, looking decidedly unhappy. At 5’11 she cut a striking pose as she strode confidently through the halls of the Ministry. Tipped for Minster of Magic, she was one the most popular department heads in decades.

Zacharias quite liked Perks’ office. It as a decent size and full of bookcases. On the desk sat a pink glittery skull, it served as both a warning as a quill holder. Sally-Anne Perks may have been a woman, but she was a scary woman that had dedicated her life to her career.

Sally-Anne twirled an idle lock of red hair around her fingers, a clear sign on annoyance. “ _Finally_ ,” she muttered and flicked her long braid over her back. “Make sure that door is closed, Smith.”

Zacharias double checked at sat in the only unoccupied chair. “This stays between the three of us. No one else knows. We are going to do this quietly and quickly, understand?”

Zacharias locked eyes with Boot and then nodded.

Perks closed her eyes, anger clear on her face. “Potter has escaped.”

“Fucking hell,” Zacharias hissed. “He was had the highest level of security!”

“How the fuck did he get out? We snapped his wand!”

“Boys please! Sit down.” Sally-Anne was glaring at them, blue eyes flashing in warning. Zacharias blinked, unaware he had even stood. Embarrassed he sat back down. Sally-Anne snorted “This is why I want you two to find him, you aren’t his _fans_ ,” She sneered at the word like it had personally offended her “So you won’t get taken in by his lies.”

“I’ll bring the little shit in,” Zacharias spat. It was bad enough that Potter wasn’t executed, but to have the nerve to escape? Zacharias would enjoy dragging Potter back into Azkaban.

“As for how, it seems he tricked on of the guards into opening the door for some reason and seized his chance. The guard was obliviated and demoted.”

“We should start in Azkaban, see if we can’t work out where he’s headed and why.” Terry said, sounding just as furious as Zacharias felt.

“Remember to report in every day. I want to know every single step you take and remember, the longer he is out there, the more trouble he is going to cause. _Find him quickly_.”

~*~

Harry moved around he dusty shop, opening boxes at random, uncaring of how much noise he made. He needed a wand and he needed one fast. He was never going to survive long without one.

He swore as a box slipped through his cold hands, _fuck it._ He really needed to stop dropping the bloody things, it was only going to slow him down.

Someone moved behind him and he spun, green eyes ablaze, a curse ready of his lips. He could perform wandless magic, but it was drain on his magical core, so he needed to do it as little as possible. Hopefully the sight of him would send most people running.

“Harry Potter,” A dry old voice said. Stepping closer, Harry could make the figure of an old ally.

“Hello, Ollivander, sorry to break in but I need a wand.”

Ollivander studied Harry for a long moment, before beckoning the boy deeper into the store. “I made you a wand during the war in case you ever needed it.”

Harry followed hesitantly, aware that this could be a trap, or worse. Ollivander stopped midway down a corridor, in front of a stack old worn looking boxes. The older man pulled a box from the middle of the stack. Ollivander handed the box to Harry, who took it gingerly. “

Acacia wood, 11 inches, flexible. The core is unicorn hair.”

“Thanks.” Harry picked the wand up and it warmed under his touch. “I can’t pay you.” Harry gently ran a hand over the new wand, the light brown wand shone in the darkness of the shop. Harry gently brought it down and it sent of a shower of gold sparks. At least Azkaban hadn’t taken his magic from him.

“I wouldn’t worry about that right now,” Ollivander turned his big unsettling eyes into Harry. “I would just go, before you’re discovered.”

Harry nodded and fled.

~*~

In the years since the final battle, the wizarding world had started to listen to the fallen hero Dumbledore. The dementors had been removed from Azkaban, replaced with highly trained guards. Zacharias hated being on the island the housed the giant building. The place reeked of misery. He slipped slightly as he walked up the wet stone path. The Azkaban guards greeted him and Terry who once a few paces behind him.

“This way.” The guard looked unhappy, a scowl on his face as he led the two Aurors to Potter’s now empty cell.

They climbed down into the dark recess of the prison. Doors lined the hallways, sobs could be heard coming from a few but Zacharias ignored it. If they ended up in this hell hole they had done something terrible and deserved to be here.

Potter’s cell door had been left ajar. Terry stepped close and peered in. “How long has he been gone?”

The guard shrugged. “A day maybe longer. We only check the cells down here a twice a week.”

“Idiots!” Zacharias shouted and got into the guard’s face “You should be checking every _hour_. I don’t care how weak they seem; these scumbags are here for a _reason_.”

“Smith come here.”

Glaring at the moronic guard, Zacharias stepped into the cell. The stink hit him first and he gagged, his eyes watering. “Merlin.”

Eyes adjusting to the scene, he could make out a pile of rags that ran along the farthest wall from the door, that must have been Potter’s bed. The cell was more or less empty. Pieces of food littered the floor, taking a closer look the food seemed rotten and mouldy. A pitcher of water laid on the side close to the centre of the room. Zacharias pulled his wand out and lifted the pitcher up – it was dry. Looking around the room, he couldn’t find another pitcher. He placed the pitcher down, his brow knotting together. He had never liked Potter and he had been the loudest at the trail to sentence him to death, but – if the wizarding world was going to insist on letting Harry live, then they could at make sure he was getting fresh food and water.

He walked carefully over to Terry, trying not t think about where Harry pissed. Gagging is disgust Terry pointed a finger to back wall. It was covered in human faeces. Zacharias turned away, fighting down the urge to vomit.

Eyes turned back to grime covered stone, he spotted faint white lines that he hadn’t seen earlier. He walked over and crouched down to get a better look.

“What do you think of this?” He asked Terry who came over to look.

The guard shifted uneasily. “We sometimes give him chalk,” the man huffed red faced “He’s not usually a bother.”

The two aurors glared at him for a second before looking back at the marks. “It’s names,” Terry reeled back in horror. “Look – ‘Hermione’, ‘Ron’, ‘Ginny’ – it’s the names of the victims.”

They made detailed notes of the floor, now they knew what to look for. Form Potter’s bed of rags to the door, the names of the victims had been etched all across the floor. It was sickening.

“It’s like he gets of on it.” Zacharias felt bile rise in this throat. Potter was truly disgusting. He ran a hand through his short hair. “We should probably start looking round the isle for clues. He’s been locked up for five years, he won’t be strong enough to get far.”

Terry stood from where he was looking at another name. (‘Teddy’) “Right, we should owl Perks too, she’s gonna lose her shit.”

~*~

Harry climbed into the small hole in the roof, it wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep the rain off him. He had found it a few hours ago. The crawlspace was above the roof on a out of business shop, but still, he had to be careful. Now he had a wand, he could at least cook the food he found. Pulling out two dead rats, he conjured a fire to cook them on.

“Rats Harry? How pathetic.” Voldemort sneered at him from the corner of roof. Harry ignored him. Voldemort had been trailing his every move for months now and Harry was well used to the man’s comments.

“Now, Tom, it can’t be helped,” Dumbledore came to his defence and Harry looked up to the smiling face of his mentor. Dumbledore was draped in pale blue robes embodied with different phases on the moon. Everything from Dumbledore’s buckled boots to his half moon speculates made Harry feel calmer and safer. “You can’t stay here for long, Harry.”

Harry sighed, Albus was right. He couldn’t stay still for long, he had people to defeat and perhaps members of the old Order to find and regroup.

“I’ll move on before dawn breaks.” Harry informed his two companions. “The aurors must know by now I’m not in Azkaban anymore.” Having aurors out looking for him was going to slow things down, considerably. He didn’t have time to deal with even more people tracking his movements, having Dumbledore and Voldemort follow him around was already distracting enough.

Voldemort sneered down at Harry “You think you can out run aurors? In your state? You couldn’t even go a round with my Death Eaters.”

“Shut up.” Harry told the Dark Lord sternly. He took the rat of the fire. Blowing on it to cool it down, he took a bite. “This is all your fault anyway you know.”

“Absolutely,” Voldemort agreed dryly “I made you escape and live of rats.”

They glared at each other for a moment until Dumbledore chuckled, he was sitting in the corner knitting what looked like a poncho. “Look at you too, it’s just like old times!”

Harry rolled his eyes, just like old times, indeed.


	2. Searching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, I'm sorry this took so long! Hopefully it wont be such a long wait for chapter 3
> 
> Huge thanks to Copper for doing an amazing Beta job on this!

Zacharias walked into St. Mungos with a heavy heart. Another wing had been added to the fourth floor. It had been named the ‘L. Lovegood’ wing after the first victim of Harry’s crazed, bloodthirsty rampage.

 

Inside the ward, the surviving four victims lived. The actions of one crazed mind five years ago was seared into everyone’s mind. The boy saviour, the boy who survived, coldly chasing down his supporters before murdering them was something no one was likely to ever forget. It took five people to bring Harry down. It wasn’t surprising, Harry was young and powerful, he had battled and defeated a Dark Lord - sooner or later that would’ve gone to his head. It would have gone to _anyone’s_ head.

 

Squaring his shoulders, Zacharias made his way slowly to the set of double doors, that, like the person they were named after, were bright and slightly odd. Every other door was the dull, off cream colour that every hospital seemed to love. The doors were bright, acid pink with silver stars and moons decorating the door. He smiled to himself. He had never treated her well in life, so being here was always bittersweet. He should have treated her better, he shouldn’t have been such a coward during the battle.

He pushed open the doors and stepped into the room. The walls inside the ward were also painted bright, garish colours with animals and more stars painted on the walls. Slowly, he headed towards the bed the furthest away from the doors. The walls around this bed were covered in pictures of people.

 

Several Weasleys waved down at him; Ron Weasley frowned from a picture where he stood with Harry and Hermione. Picture Harry rolled his eyes and Hermione shrugged. Zacharias studied the picture of a moment -  the trio seemed to be around 16, long before Harry turned against him.

 

He had been wary of Harry the year before. Hadn’t believed everything that the boy had said. Maybe of if he had framed his concerns in the right way, he might have been listened to. Maybe. He moved to sit in the comfortable, stuffed, yellow armchair next to the bed.

 

“Hello, Penny.” Penelope Clearwater had once been a bright, shining light of the wizarding world. Someone who had a wonderful future ahead of her. She could’ve easily been a leader of their world one day. Instead, she was found half dead, holding the cold hand of Percy Weasley.

 

Penny turned to look at him, her eyes now dull and muted, all signs of life absent. “Penny,” he said softly, hating himself for what he was about to do. He cleared his throat. “Penny, I need to talk to you about Harry.”

 

“No.” It was said so quietly, Zacharias almost missed it. A shadow flickered in her eyes. _Fear._

 

“Penny,” He pressed gently, “I’m sorry to do this, but it’s really important. What do you remember after the attack?”

 

Penny looked down at her broken hands, twisted and deformed from Harry’s brutal rampage. Her blonde hair hung limply around her face and shoulders. She looked fragile, skin pulled tight against bones. Her blue eyes looked huge on her taut face. _A living corpse_. Out of the four survivors, Penny had retained the most of her mind. Some criminals kept in contact with their victims, continuing to torture them from behind bars. They had to know if Harry was one of the criminals. Zacharias felt disgusted that no one had seemed to do a better a job of keeping tabs on Harry and what he was up to in Azkaban.  

 

“I don’t know.” Her eyes were distant, unfocused.

 

Zacharias tried not to let his disappointment show, “That’s fine,” He said trying to offer a reassuring smile.

 

He blew out out a breath. “Have you - have you heard from Harry?” he asked. Penny shook her head, her blue eyes wide with alarm.

 

Zacharias wanted to kick himself for bringing all of this up, but he had no choice.  The longer Harry was out there, the longer he was a threat.

 

“Thank you, Penny,” He smiled warmly at the former Hogwarts student. He wished he could have done something to save her. “You’ve been a lot of help.”

 

Penny nodded absently, her mouth moving silently. Zacharias strained to hear her, but couldn’t.  “I’ll find him for you,” he promised.

 

~*~

 

Harry wrapped his arms tighter around himself in an effort to fight off the cold. He had planned on moving today, but a sudden downpour of rain kept him where he was. He wasn’t stupid, he wasn’t about to run around in the rain, he also wasn’t going to make himself a fire.

 

The roof wasn’t a secure location. Harry was sure he was being watched.

 

Molly Weasley had visited him today. As much as loved seeing her, he really wished she wouldn’t visit. What if someone saw her? Harry wasn’t going back to Azkaban without a fight. Molly seemed happy enough, though she never spoke to him.

 

She sat against the cold, damp wall, humming to herself. Her head was sitting in her lap. Molly was knitting him a scarf, he was very grateful.

 

If only her skin wasn’t blue. Luna would’ve had a name for why everyone’s skin was blue. Harry missed his odd friend deeply, but she never came to visit him.

 

“I would stay away from wizarding area’s if I were you, people know your face.” Voldemort’s cold voice appeared from the shadows. Molly stopped humming.

 

“The only problem, of course, is that if it’s going to be anywhere, it’s going to be in a wizarding area,” Harry scrubbed his hands over his face.

 

“You’re going to die, Potter,” Voldemort sneered.

 

“Oh bugger off,” Harry snapped. He stood he was not going to be sneered at by the Dark Lord of all people! “All of you just - just bugger off!”

 

The figures disappeared and Harry’s temper cooled off immediately. The sudden silence was deafening.

 

“No,” Harry whispered, “don’t leave me. I’m sorry.”  When no one replied, Harry sat back down, curling into himself.  “I’m sorry.” He repeated, tears rolling down his face.

 

In the corner of the rooftop, a harp began to play.

 

~*~

 

Zacharias and Terry arrived in Diagon Alley in the midst of the afternoon rush. The rain had stopped for now and the men found themselves dodging large puddles.

 

Squeezing through the teeming crowd, they eventually made it to the front of Ollivander's. Terry rolled his shoulders with unease.

 

“The place always did give me the creeps,” he admitted. “Shall we split up? You take this and I’ll - look around the other shops.”

 

“Can’t say I blame you, this place unnerves me as well.” Zacharias jiggled his leg. “We should both tackle Gringotts though.”

 

“Oh bloody hell, yeah.” The Goblins were slowly turning against the Ministry, it had everyone on edge.

 

“Meet you in an hour, hour and a half then?” Zacharias asked, still feeling nervous about entering the shop. His fingers twitched.

 

“Sure, sure,” Terry agreed. “Good luck.” He placed a hand on Zacharias’ shoulder for a moment, before patting it and walking away.

 

Zacharias rocked his hips for a moment, delaying the moment for a second or two longer. Finally, he heaved a sigh and walked forwards. “You had better not be hiding Potter in there,” he muttered to himself.

 

~*~

Terry zigzagged across the street, searching every shop for even a hint that Potter had been there. He didn’t believe for a moment that Harry was alone. Someone had to be helping him. You did not spend years in prison - in Azkaban no less and then become excellent at evading aurors!

 

Whoever was helping Harry was going to find themselves on the wrong end of his wand. Sally Anne would approve, he thought grimly.

 

~*~

 

The shop still filled Zacharias with awe and wonder, tinged with the hint of foreboding. There was just something about Ollivander’s that made the place unnerving.

 

The bell above the door tinkled softly as he walked in. The hair of the back of his arms stood up as the gentle prickle of magic washed over him. Ollivanders was hallowed ground.

 

The floorboards creaked as he walked carefully towards the counter. Dust swirled lazily in sunbeams.

 

“Mr Ollivander?” He called. There was something in the air that made him want to be silent, a reverence created by the magic that shimmered in the air.

 

Zacharias didn’t expect an answer, but it was still frustrating. He clicked his tongue. Not wanting to just stand by the counter like a dolt, he began to walk around the shop, running scans that would reveal if someone was hiding.

 

“Here’s not here,” Zacharias jumped, he spun around his wand raised.

 

He kept his wand raised as he regarded the elderly man before him. “I never said I was looking for anyone.”

 

“You’re looking for Harry Potter,” Ollivander said it in such a matter of fact way that Zacharias was taken aback by it.

 

“You know he’s missing.” Zacharias could feel his irritation with Potter growing. The public still adored him. Even when he did horrific things, deep down the wizarding public would protect the Boy-Who-Loved.

 

“I do.” Ollivander smiled kindly at Zacharias.

 

“Has he been in the shop?” Zacharias asked. He tightened his fingers around his wand.

 

“No,”

 

“In that case, you won’t mind if I take a look the whole shop then,”

 

Ollivander blinked. “Help yourself.”

 

“Thanks,” Zacharias moved quickly past the pale-eyed older man, wanting to get the job over with quickly.

 

He searched in every nook and cranny, he checked for Harry’s magical signature, ran every tracing spell he could possibly think off.

 

Zacharias searched methodically. Nothing. Not even a tiny hint of the murderous brat. Merlin damn it. Still, he wasn’t done. He pulled out his ace card. A charm that let him know the second Harry stepped into the shop.

 

He couldn’t put his finger on why, but he knew in his gut that Ollivander and Harry were connected somehow and if the old man was fool enough to help Harry, then he deserved a trip to Azkaban too.

 

Zacharias walked back to the main part of the store. A young girl with red pigtails and soft brown eyes had the biggest grin on her face as she held a wand in her hand.

 

He waited, not wanting to ruin such a special moment as soon as the girl and her father left the shop, he cleared his throat.

 

“All clear,” he informed Ollivander, striding over to the door. He stopped and turned to face the aged wizard.

 

“Mr Smith,” Ollivander leaned against the side of his counter, staring intently at Zacharias. “Phoenix feather wand owners are as rare to catch as phoenixes. They know how to avoid detection should they wish to.”

 

“Right,” Zacharias tried to shrug off the uncomfortable feeling that settled over his shoulders like a blanket.

 

“Should the Ministry discover you’ve been assisting a dangerous criminal you will be in very serious trouble.” Zacharias held his wand at his side, keeping it visible still. His fingers clenched and unclenched around it.

 

“Ah, that may be true. But when you’ve been imprisoned by a crazed Dark Lord, Azkaban no longer seems like much of a threat. Good day to you, young man.”

 

Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Zacharias grasped the cold brass door handle. He opened his mouth to issue one last warning, then stopped. With a shrug, he pulled open the shop door and left.

 

~*~

 

“What took you so long?” Terry asked his partner. He had expected to be the last to arrive, but no, Zacharias had kept him waiting by forty-five minutes.

 

“Ollivander,” Zacharias huffed “He knows something and I’d like very much to know what.”

 

“Just what we need, people helping _Potter_ ,” he spat the last name as it was a particularly vile curse. “Right, let’s talk to the Goblins.” The two Aurors both sighed and trudged into the bank.

 

Gringotts was busy as always; at the muggle money conversation desk the line of people waiting was so long it doubled back on itself; Wizarding parents stood impatiently at desks waiting to be taken to their vaults. Zacharias and Terry walked past all of them, making a beeline for the back of the huge bank - an area where only Ministry officials were allowed.

 

They came to stand in front of a desk, where an ancient looking goblin sat, leafing through piles of parchment.

 

Terry pulled out his badge from his robes. “Good afternoon, my name is Terry Boot, from the Auror Division.”

 

The goblin looked up, a sneer on its face. “Badge.”

 

Terry handed the badge over and the goblin turned it over carefully. “And your friend?”

 

“Zacharias Smith, also an Auror.” He quickly pulled out his own badge, handing it over without a fuss.

 

There was a long tense moment and then, “I am Tiacs, what can I do for you?” Tiacs waved the two men into seats, which they gratefully took.

 

“We’re here to ask about the Potter vault. We need to know when the last it was used.”

 

Tiacs eyed them skeptically before slipping from his seat and disappearing.  The two Aurors looked at each other and shrugged, settling in for a wait.

 

“Mr. Harry Potter last removed money from his account on February 13th, 2012.” Zacharias rubbed the sleep from his eyes as the goblin returned with the information they had asked for. He checked his watch, it had only been thirty-five minutes.

 

Zacharias scowled as terry chuckled next to him “Sorry mate, it looked like you needed the sleep,” Terry turned serious as he addressed the goblin. “Are you sure?”  

 

“Quite sure,” came the clipped answer.

 

Terry frowned, “Has anyone else tried to remove money from the vault?”

 

Tiacs rolled his eyes put picked the parchment that trailed over the floor. “No one else has tried to access the Potter vaults since then.”

 

Zacharias ran a hand through his hair “OK, make sure it stays that way. Key or no key - no one touches that vault.”

 

“As you wish,” Ticas said tartly, “We do not allow criminals to access their vaults, especially ones that are locked up in Azkaban.”

 

“We also need to look around -,” At Ticas withering look they knew they had gone too far. “Or not,” Terry finished lamely.

 

“This bank has better security than your Ministry could even dream of,” Ticas said acidly. “We will never allow you to wander around, poking your noses into places they shouldn’t be.”

 

“We trust you and your abilities, no offence was meant,” Terry replied calmly, actively trying to keep his voice light.

 

“Absolutely, we would never dream of looking around Gringotts,” Zacharias sent Terry an apologetic look “My partner tends to be a tad overzealous. We apologise.”

 

“Apology accepted,” Tiacs spoke directly to Zacharias. “Please take your partner and leave.”

 

They nodded, eager to leave the awkwardness behind.

 

“Bloody hell, wait until Rita hears about this! Two Ministry employees insult a Gringotts goblin. We’re going to be in so much shit.” Terry cracked his neck. “I hate playing by other people’s rules. We are Aurors.”

 

“I agree with you,” Zacharias said, “In our defense, it’s not like Harry hasn’t broken into Gringotts before.”

 

“Very true,” Terry kicked at the ground. “I hate Potter.” He placed his hands on his hips to think. “Let’s get back to the office and start on today’s report. We’ll tackle Hogsmeade tomorrow, I’ve had enough for today.”

 

Fat raindrops picked that precise moment to begin falling from the sky, dampening the two men’s mood even more. Shoppers shrieked as they dived into the nearest shops to take cover from the rain.

 

“Tell you what,” Zacharias said as he took out his wand and murmured a rain repellent spell to cover them both, “if Harry is out here, he’ll soon get sick and die.”

This seemed to cheer Terry up. They wrapped their cloak’s around themselves tightly as the rain fell heavier still.  “It would serve the little shit right. Merlin, I just hope if he does he doesn’t cause a panic.”

 

Zacharias blanched, the image of a sick and pale Harry Potter trying to seek help from St. Mungos and the panic that would cause arose in his mind. His stomach clenched in disgust. Harry should never be near St. Mungo, near his victims. His hands balled to fists, that could _never_ happen.

 

~*~

  


Zacharias knocked on the door of Sally-Anne’s office, rolling his eyes when his knocks went unanswered. Typical. Deciding it was worth the risk, he cast a quick alohomora and let himself into the office.

 

Sally-Anne wasn’t there, her speckled owl Praxidike was asleep on his perch by the enchanted window. Zacharias slipped into the room, closing the door behind him quietly. He didn’t know why, but being alone in the office set his teeth on edge. He walked the six strides to the desk. All he needed was a copy of an old report.

 

Walking behind the desk he paused. Sticking out from under a book was a piece of parchment with Potter’s name on it. He shrugged, it wouldn’t hurt to look, after all, it might be part of the current investigation.

 

_Subject: Potter, Harry James_

_Results: Promising. Recommend continuing as planned._

 

Zacharias stared at the note baffled. Behind him, Praxidike screeched, flapping his wings in anger. Zacharias bolted, not wanting to be caught looking where he clearly shouldn’t be.

 

He leaned against the closed office door, his mind working furiously. Something told him that wasn’t just a simple case of catch the escaped prisoner. Something very odd was going on here. He wrestled with his curiosity. He could ignore this, he could. Or, he could head to the one place in the Ministry that was full of secrets and see what he could find out.

 

~*~

 

Just perfect, Harry thought to himself and stepped carefully over a broken log. He had left because the rain had stopped and now it was raining harder than ever.

 

At least he was no longer alone. Voldemort walked next to him, offering snide, unhelpful remarks. Harry would have preferred Dumbledore’s company, but he would take what he could get.

  
The rain damped the sound of his footsteps, making the forest darker and quieter than ever before. It was odd, being back in the Forbidden Forest after all this time. Odd, but comforting in its own way. Ahead was Hogwarts. _I’m coming home._


End file.
